


New Beginnings

by Madam_de_Plume



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madam_de_Plume/pseuds/Madam_de_Plume
Summary: With none of her family left.  Charlotte must leave the life she knew and start a new one.  Travelling far from where she began, she sets her sights on a new place to call home.





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever piece of writing - Be kind :)  
> More chapter to come, when she meets up with some locals ;)
> 
> \-- Work in progress, story has stalled a bit while I work out where I'm going with it, and procrastinate by writing some other stuff.

Sinking down into her seat and pulling her hat low over her eyes, she looks out the train window and silently curses at the people taking their sweet time to board the train. She's lucky to have got this far, and if she can survive until the train departs, then she's halfway there.

Beads of sweat form on her forehead and she shrugs off the prickly feeling at the back of her neck. Her heart is thumping.

There was only one way to leave the Wilson Gang, and that was in a coffin. Stealing from them.... well, lets just say that death would be the better option. She'd done both! If she was lucky then they wouldn't notice until she was long gone. If she was really lucky then maybe they would accept the trade she'd left in the safe instead, and not come after her. 

She didn't much believe in luck though. She believed in planning. She'd chosen this day to leave, knowing that with the hangovers the boys would be sporting from the night before, she should have several hours head start.

Her role had been helping plan out their raids. It took patience and brains, both in short supply in the gang. So while she'd helped herself to a sizable parting bonus, she had left them with detailed plans of a way they could double what she'd taken. A peace offering of sorts. She felt it was not only fair, but also perhaps the only way she'd make it out of this alive. 

She wanted no trouble. She wanted no revenge. She just wanted out.

The train whistled. She dared to let out a small sigh of relief. They would be moving soon. She figured there was a good chance the gang wouldn't attack a moving train in broad daylight just to recover her and their stolen money. But there was a higher chance they would feel the need to make an example of her. Not good odds. Only time would tell.

The train jolted. Movement at last. A new surge of adrenaline. She'd made it this far. Could she hope to make it further? 

She wasn't sure where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to run far and to make sure her path was unpredictable. She'd need a new name as well. She sighed. She liked her name. She always felt a name was bound somehow to a person's soul. Her name bound her to her father. That thought brought a twinge of pain as she remembered the man taken from her as a child. But right now that name was also bound to the gang and her past, and using it now would only get her killed. She'd grab a newspaper later and pick out a new name. She didn't want to try and think now, she needed to just watch the countryside roll by and quiet her thumping heart.

When they stopped at the next station she held her breath and tried not to let a look of panic cross her face. She should be safe, but there was no way to know for sure. The gang's horses weren't a match for the speed of the train, so they couldn't get here in time, especially with the head start she had. They could hardly report the theft to the law, so the law wouldn't be looking for her. She wasn't sure if the gang had allies in this area, but she hoped that even if they did, it would be too early to get word to them yet. After a very tense few minutes the train shuddered and moved on. She let out a huge sigh of relief. Another milestone passed.

Some time later she looked at her pocketwatch again, for the hundredth time. It was finally time. She made her way to the end of the carriage. She looked around certain nobody was watching, she opened the door to the lady's lavatory and stepped inside.

Shrugging the suspenders off her shoulders, her trousers slid down to her ankles while she untied the bandana from her neck and unbuttoned her shirt. A tumble of fabric fell loose. She looked in the mirror and pulled off the fake beard. The overweight bearded man had now become a young woman in a dress. Removing her worn cowboy hat revealed a fashionable lady's hairstyle, complete with ringlets and decorative flowers. She tossed the removed garments out the train window and watched as they were whipped away by the wind. Straightening her skirt, and checking the money pouches strapped to her legs were still there, she finished her preparations by applying some lipstick. She allowed herself a small smile. She did scrub up well!

The train started to slow. She had timed it perfectly, they were pulling into the station. She didn't want to arouse suspicion by going back to her old seat - which other passengers would know had been formerly occupied by a man. So she exited the lavatory just as the train was pulling into the station. With other passengers eagerly standing to stretch their legs and claim their luggage, she was able to make her way down the aisle, the gender change hopefully unnoticed. 

She intentionally tripped over onto a young gentleman who politely offered a flustered apology and assistance. Being an attractive young woman certainly had its advantages! She used this opportunity to strike up a conversation so that the pair left the train together. No women had boarded the train where she had got on. Well nobody dressed as one anyway! And while the train had picked up a random assortment of new passengers along the way, including women, anyone looking for her would be expecting her to be travelling alone. Now she was a well dressed woman walking with a fine looking gentleman, this would help her to further disappear into the crowd.

Once clear of the platform she said goodbye to her now unnecessary companion with a kiss on the cheek. She checked the station timetable. Several trains would be leaving here today headed in different directions. Each branch of the trainline offered her more chances she would be able to disappear. As even she didn't know where she was going, they would not be able to predict which way she went either and it would be impossible for them to search every town along all train and coach routes. 

While the train was the more obvious transportation for her to have taken, it was also faster and afforded more crowds to blend into. Would they assume she would travel by train, so should she travel by stagecoach instead? Even though it was slower and would leave her trapped if they did come after her. Or would they think that since the train was a more obvious choice that she'd probably have taken the Stage instead of the train, thus making the train a safer choice? Ugh. She didn't know. It was a huge risk to take. Ultimately the faster travel with more people seemed the better choice.

She had 2 hours to spare until the next train. She bought herself a map, a newspaper and settled down somewhere quiet to plan for the next stage of her journey. She liked to plan things, it made her comfortable to know what was happening in her world and she didn't like leaving things up to chance or luck. Ideally she'd have wanted months to plan this escape. But she'd not had months, she'd had 3 days.

\----

When her father, Marshall of their town, had been killed along with her older brother in a gunfight, she was just 5 years old. She and her mother had continued to work their small farm alone, but they had no way to earn a living. After struggling for a year, her mother, like many women in her position, had resorted to working in a saloon. Before long her mother had thought herself lucky to have found favour with Joe, the leader of a local "Wilson Gang", who had taken them both in. 

Starting out the daughter of a lawman and ending up an outlaw. Life certainly did keep you guessing sometimes. While it wasn't the life her mother had wanted, it was better than the saloon or starving to death on their farm. For the most part, life in the gang was ok. Kept away from the dirty work of the gang, they had food, shelter and with her mother becoming Joe's lover, they had enough position in the gang that they were safe, and even at times, happy. Joe even took on somewhat of a father role. He was not a bad man, well - other than him being an outlaw of course. But he did truly love her mother and treated them both well. 

However everything changed 3 days ago, when her mother died.

Her mother had been out of sorts for a while, but in the days before her death she'd been too weak to get out of bed. Then one morning, her mother just never woke up. It didn't take long before the protections offered by her mother's position in the gang had dissolved. As Joe was now off grieving for the woman he had come to love, the other men in the gang fixed their attentions to the young woman who was now very much alone.

She fought off the first advance with a well placed knife and the threat to plunge it deeper. The second attempt was after she'd taken the precaution to arm herself with something a little more persuasive. But those had been just one man coming up to her alone. They could easily overpower her if they joined forces. She knew that she couldn't protect herself forever and needed to get away. She didn't much care for that life anyway and with nobody she loved left and nowhere else to go, she may as well start a new life for herself.

She had been working on a plan for their next raid before her mother had died. That had become her role in the gang. While her mother and Joe had vowed never to involve her in gang business, they had discovered she had a talent for strategy and planning. So she was put to use devising schemes that allowed the gang to avoid some unnecessary gunfights. She finished that up and left it in Joe's safe, along with a note telling him that if they left her alone, she'd keep the secret of their identity and location. She'd taken money in exchange, but that was something they would eagerly replace. She'd left them the means.

\----

Looking now through the newspaper, she had to decide on a new name and a new background for herself. Scanning the articles she decided upon Charlotte Hoffman. That would do for now. She took out a small leather bound book and started making notes. Using the newspaper for inspiration she started creating a new life story for herself. She'd use the remainder of the train ride to commit it to memory.

Making her way to the lavatory she undid her elaborate hairstyle and fixed it into a more practical common style. Scrubbed off the remains of her lipstick and then removed the fancy dress she had been wearing and stashed it behind the commode. Underneath she had been wearing a simple skirt and blouse. Her last change of clothing. It might not have been necessary to change her appearance along the way, but she felt safer knowing that her movements were harder to trace if she looked like 3 different people. It was a shame to have to leave the dress behind - it had belonged to her mother. The only piece of fancy clothing they had still owned. But she now had the money to buy her own gowns, once she had found somewhere safe to settle. She still had 2 mementos of her parents. Her father's Marshall star that was pinned inside her blouse, close to her heart, and a cameo necklace that had belonged to her mother, hanging around her neck.

One last look in the mirror to check she looked presentable, then she stepped out and joined the crowd making their way to the train station. She again sought out a suitable looking gentleman to make pleasantries with while they waited for the train to arrive; who of course invited her to sit with him on the train. He was thankfully only travelling half the journey she was, so after enjoying the company for a few hours, it was time for him to depart. After saying their goodbyes, she was now alone, heading to a town she'd never even heard of, and a new life.

Charlotte, as she would be known from now on, stepped off the train onto the platform and looked up at the sign for the place she hoped would become her new home. "Valentine" She chucked to herself and hoped she'd find this to be a suitable town to fall in love with.


End file.
